Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-11-18

some ugly trick. -
We got into the carriage and started of
again.
We had not been under way half an
hour before Bechard began moaning.
81 am so hot, said he, chat I feel just
as if l were boiling in my own juice.
In fact, the SUMS rays seemed to have
coated the earth with molten lead. More
over, Bechard and I had our legs hermet-
ically closed in under the thick leather
carriage apron. With his winter panttl-
looms on, Bechard must have been suffer-
ing untold agonies.
''Ha! hap thought l, concealing my
satisfaction. ''This is the foretaste of re-
venge, anyhow"
81 say" observed Bechard at the same
instant, "'tis this blasted apron that is
keeping us so hot Suppose we try to
raise it.
''All right replied I, s'let us try.
We raised the apron.
"'Twill not do,' said l. ''You see
yourself that with it raised 1 shall not be
able to handle the reins.''
We put it back again. There was long
interval of silence. Bechard was between
stew and a sweat, while was slyly fol-
lowing up the threads of an idea that my
brain had just evolved.
'By jingo! 1 can't stand them any
longer" said Bechard.
"What?'' queried /.
"My breaches, of course"
"Well, if they bother you so much rs
all that, why don't you take them off?
Nobody will see you"
'sThat's an ideal" exclaimed Bechard
"And good one, assure you. l speak
from experience, as | have done so myself
more than twenty times
Honestly speaking?'
Eyes, pledge you my word of honor"
''Wel, then, here goes!'
And in one time and two motions
Bechard took off his pantaloons, folded
them carefully and sat down on them
with sigh of relief
From that moment his humor was most
charming. With slight touch of irony
in his voice, he inquired if had slept well
the night before.
81 slept very soundly,'' replied I.
I carefully noted the mile stones at the
side of the road Audierne was barely
more than two kilometers away. / waited
q few minutes longer. Suddenly, as [
stretched forth my arm to touch up tho
horse, my whip slipped from my hand and
dropped to the ground
''My whip!" cried I.
''Has it fallen? Well, get down and
get it,"
''And my horse9'
II will hold him.
''No, indeed. He is too FESTIVE. He
seems to obey no other hand but mine
''What shall we do, then9'h~
"Won't you get it for me?''
Certainly, but wait till I slip on my
pantaloons."
''What is the use? There is not even a
cat to be seen anywhere within two klo-
meters of this place"
s'All right! wait minute"
And Bechard, unsuspecting Bechard,
jumped out of the carriage to the road.
Hardly had he touched the earth than
gave slight twitch to the reins and my
horse started off like lightning
'Hey! Hey!" howled Bechard in hor-
rified voice.
l did not hear him long, as my horse,
urged on by my voice, was running at II
fearful rate of speed.
But, through the little glass in the rear
of the vehicle, could see the unfortunate
man brandishing in despair the whip,
which he had picked up, AID stretching
his bare legs as fast as he could along the
dusty road. Oh! what funny sight my
friend Bechard furnished me with.
relished my cruel joy until reached
the principal houses of Audierne, as I
carried my vengeance so far as to drive d
good distance up the main street. Here,
at last 1 checked my horse and waited
1t would be no easy task to describe the
establishment of the good people Of
that city, when they saw coming q
sweating, blowing, Tuning and swear
ing stranger, noble looking, with
a hat on his head, jacket on his
back, a whip in hand, but entirely want
ing in neither garments The women of
the place ran off, cackling like a lot of
frightened hens, while the excited men,
installing the queer visitor for lunatic,
were on the point of mobbing him. Be
chard had barely time to leap into the
carriage, and 1 really believe that if he
had not been aware of the fact that 1 was
the stronger of the two he would have
tried to strangle me.
"You would hardly believe" said
friend Doublure, in concluding his rela-
ton, "that he has sworn an implacable
hatred against me, and has never forgiven
me for having made him enter Audierne
in that simple costume, with linen flying
in the breeze. And yet they had good
laugh over it in the townr'
The ungrateful wretch After that,
what inducement is there for fellow to
help friend in scoring success?-Trans-
lated from the French of Joseph Montet
for The 1imes-Democrat.